Diamond Eyes
by Dorian Whitewater
Summary: When SOLDIERs Daniel Moskow and his girlfriend Sandy Bianca find that their long time friend, Sephiroth, was killed, the two go on a grand mission to find his killer, but they end up getting caught up in their own adventure.
1. Word from the Author

**Note from the Author**

I was one of those final fantasy diehards that camped out in front of Best Buy on the day of the games release. Ever since, I would have to agree that as many other games may come and go, my favorite story of all time had to be the one from the Final Fantasy Universe. I have done many MANY fan fics on this game but none as in-depth as what I'm planning with this story. This is a parallel to the original game, as in I did not, and will not change the story line of the game, even though it takes place at the same time and intertwining with the same events. There's only one small event in which I plan on changing. That will be revealed in the later chapters.

The idea came to me when I was playing (obviously) and I paid special attention to the plot line. There are several events in the game where things seem to happen out of nowhere or happen without making any sense (as in even when ShinRa, stopped the group on Mako Reactor #2, the bomb still blew up, things of that nature). This story I came up with to explain some if not all of those events. Comments and reviews are always welcomed. I hope you enjoy!

For those of you who are unfamiliar with the history of the FF7 Universe, this story starts at the end of the Wutai/Midgar war. Wutai had surrendered and a SOLDIER Tactical Unit that was stationed there for 5 months out of the war had just come back from deployment. This story will include characters from many other Final Fantasy 7 games (Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core, Before Crisis.), films, and novels that have been officially sanctioned by SquareEnix (Or the now non-existent Squaresoft, which I think MAY still hold a few copyrights due to technicality). The only characters I will stake claim for are those of my creation, including, but not limited to: Daniel Moskow, Sandy Bianca, and others which I will label properly when the time for their appearance comes. The rest are copyright of their respected owners. All hail and praise to the almighty copyright laws, whose sole purpose is for shit-statements like this to be forced into existence to further hamper the good ideas of men and women across the globe. Oh and all hail my coffee maker, bringer of the sacred molecule, and lifeblood of my bosses.

**Dorian Whitewater**


	2. Chapter 1 Welcome Home

The plan landed with a nasty bump on the runway. It swerved a bit before settling into a straight line then suddenly jerked to a halt. This forced Daniel to smack his head against the metal wall where he was strapped into.

"Mother-ffff- Every damn time…" He mumbled to himself, scorning an unseen fate that had been ordained by the stars that would force his head to slam into the wall when ever the plane landed.

"Alright! Get out there and form up! Officers on the left, SOLDIER, on the right, Peace Keepers in the middle!"

The personnel strapped into the seats that lined the cargo hold started unbuckling their seat belts, grabbing their bags and their weapons, they proceeded off the ramp. The Captain stood in the middle, blowing his whistle furiously until his face was nothing but red. Daniel often wondered how captains remained conscience after blowing their whistle so much. Hell this particular captain never took his whistle out of his mouth. You can always hear its shrill when ever he speaks, makes him sound like he's speaking through gaped teeth at times.

"MOSKOW! Hurry up!"

Daniel hurriedly gathered his bags and secured his sword to his waist as he ran off the ship. Tossing all his bags into the pile with the others, he snuck his way into the formation, listening to his captain whistle them a beautiful speech. It may have been beautiful, but as stated before that whistle was practically grafted to his lips.

_I wonder if he sleeps with it in his mouth._

The command for attention rang out and in unison; all three platoons snapped their heels together and stood erect. The high winds on the landing strip in Junon Harbor always played tricks on the soldiers that stood in formation. If one didn't eat regularly, he would be blown off into the ocean. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the main entourage approach. He had been dispatched with his SOLDIER unit so much that he practically memorized the speech Heidegger gave when they returned. He took his long strides over to each platoon and eyed the first rank carefully. He moved on to the officers ranks and only gave them a glance. The trouble started when he would move onto the SOLDIER platoon. Where as the peace keepers and officers would be in the towns or safe back in the tents, they were never as dirty, bruised kneed, or bushed as the SOLDIERs were. Somehow this put Hedger in a bad mood. Not to mention that most of the platoon made fun of him behind his back.

"Gya hah hah hah hahaaaa! On behalf of the President! I welcome you all back!"

Daniel was making the troop next to him fight back a snicker as Daniel mimicked his facial expressions and mouthed his words perfectly. When ever he would laugh that stupid horse laugh, Daniel would exaggerate it by leaning back while his hand was on an invisible oversized belly. It was usually funny until he gets caught and thrown into the ocean, which was a good twenty stories down.

"The war we are waging is an important one!! We are the keepers of peace and security in the world! You are looked down upon by no one! Looked up to by everyone! And most of all, represent the famed and glorious power in the world, ShinRa! Gya hah hah ha ha haaaaaa!!"

Daniel snapped back to attention just in time to avoid Hedgar's eyes.

_Oh that was close. Better pay attention…pfft like I do that anyway._

"Those that have fallen around you only serve to fuel the fire in your bellies! We must punish-"

_I wonder what Seph is doing right now? Heh, probably soaking in all the attention on making the newspapers. Hell we even heard about it in Wutai._

"-ShinRa! Now as you all may know, ShinRa is a proper and fair company. We would never abandon-"

_I mean yeah I guess it's a great feat, but still, it was only one monster. I'm sure that any of us could have taken it. Right place at the right time I suppose._

"…in peace with all other nations. You are our pride! May fortune smile upon all of you! Gya haaaaaa haaaaaa haahahahaaaa haaa haaaaaaaa!"

His last laugh was always the worst. It sounded like he was gargling puppies in his mouth. Although how anything could get through that ugly black beard, he didn't know but with that huge gut, you just HAVE to assume.

The Captain turned around after Heidegger walked out of sight, and sighed into his whistle. Hell even in front of the superiors, he never takes that thing out. Either that or he has a magnet in his lips. He gave the order and the platoon dispersed. He couldn't really tell but he could have sworn that he heard a 'thank god he didn't get thrown off again'. Hell it would have been fun. It would always take another three hours for them to open the lift as per standard security reasons. It happens when ever the airship takes off or lands, it's the same thing with the Gelnika. As soon as the captain and all other superiors were out of sight, the rest of the SOLDIER platoon busted out laughing.

"Oh god! Man that was just like him man!"

Daniel shared in the laughing but he became lost in thought when he saw two female Sailors pass by.

"Yo! Lover boy! Eyes this way!"

Daniel gave a lazy turn to his face, then landed on his ass as he tried to back away from a face that was practically touching his.

"Ghaa! Sandy! Don't do that!"

The light brown hair waved in the wind as the girl put her hands on her hips. It had been five months since last he saw her, but he could never forget that athletic body, those powerful thighs, the beautifully puckered lips and that devilish smile. Those stunning green eyes, and that bob cut brown hair with the bonnet.

_And those BOOBS! That sweet ass, how sexy this uniform looks on her…oh yeah that's Sandy alright!_

Sandy took a few moments looking at his face, when she suddenly became shocked and shot a fist across his face, effectively sending him a few feet away.

"I take my time to come out here and welcome you home and all you can think about is THAT?! Gawd, you are such a pig!"

She folded her arms as Daniel picked himself off the pavement.

"Hey it's been 5 months! Can you blame me?"

Those words escaped his mouth before he could stop them. He hid behind his hands, shielding himself from her infamous wrath. Sandy grew furious for a moment, snatched him by the collar and brought him to her lips, digging her tongue as far back into his mouth as she could. He pulled him away as they both smiled and embraced each other.

"Well I'd be a hypocrite if I said I didn't undress you with my eyes while you were standing there in formation."

The two standing there, embracing each other, made the rest of the company seem a bit awkward, as everyone began side stepping towards the lounge area just across the flight path. Sandy snatched Daniel's hand and started dragging him towards the transport to the lower levels.

"Alright! It's settled. Ill have sex with you but you better be grateful!"

It didn't take much for her to drag him at all, even with the bags. She literally tossed him into the transport. A SOLDIER First Class herself, she was the SOLDIER platoons martial arts instructor and local fist fighting champion. She looks skinny and a bit frail at first, but her strength is near unnatural.

"NO! Wait! Rest, sleep, uhhhh… my head hurts! YOU have a headache! Gaaaa…I haven't taken a shower in three days!! I DON'T HAVE A CONDOME!"

Sandy only dove into the transport, unzipping her SOLDIER uniform while the door closed behind her.

…………………….

The door opened at the bottom level near Ocean Street. Sandy lazily walked out and stretched her arms out wide, doing a bit of a twirl as hearts danced in her eyes.

"Wow! That was wonderful Moskow! You really know how to make a girl feel like a princess…"

Daniel rolled his bags of the platform, and fell out of the transport car himself. He lay on the ground, unable to regain his breath and nearly all muscles in his body felt like failing.

_This woman's gonna kill me some day…_

"Come on! Our apartment's this way!"

Sandy grabbed Daniels foot and she started dragging him down the street, his bags following close behind him.

……………………….

It felt nice to finally take a shower, after nearly three days flying. That and he desperately wanted to shave; the old-man-look just didn't suit him. He turned the water off as he listened to the drain empty, then to the humming coming from the living room. They were both SOLDIERs in ShinRa. He had just made his promotion to first class before he went off to Wutai, while Sandy had her first class right from the get go, around ten years ago. Daniel wiped the water from the braided and beaded dirty blond hair the best he could before patting it down with the towel. He stared at himself in the mirror, looking at all the changes the fighting did to him.

_Oh yeah…Sexy maaaan Sexy maaaan!_

He whistled that song as he flexed a few muscles on his chest and arms. He was firm and cut in the right places. Bruised from fighting monsters and from his encounter in the transport car from his girlfriend, but none the less he knew he was an attractive man. His hair all fell in small braids that were either completely beaded, or tied off with straps of leather and seashells. Such expression was foreign to all those except for those living in the Mideel area. That was his hometown where his parents lived, or rather owned residence.

He was the child of the Semi-famed archeologist, Dr. Carlin Moskow and the ever beautiful and intelligent botanist, Dr. Maria Moskow. It had been such a long time since he had last seen them. Sure he talked to them on the phone at least once a month or before he was dispatched again, but as far as walking on the tropical beaches, swimming in the crystal clear waters and watching the mako fountains in the caverns to the south, it was just something that he had always missed.

"Daniel! What-is-taking-you-so-long! You better not be doing the nasty in there!"

Daniel nearly cut himself with the razor at the thought of her thinking he was masturbating. She just felt the need to enunciate every word, didn't she? He imagined she was probably standing at the doorway with her hands on her hips tapping her foot.

"Damn it! I'm trying to shave in here!"

"Well hurry up! You don't wanna miss the plane to Gold Saucer do you?"

_Ohhhh that's right! Sandy is fighting in this months tournament._

Daniel horridly shaved off the rest of his face and "other" areas of interest, then rushed out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. In there he saw Sandy preparing her makeup and fancy dress as best as she could. He often wondered why she even bothered to put makeup on. She had an amazing complexion and was very beautiful without it. Even more so he always found it odd that she fought her battles in a scarlet half-dress, with one side of the skirt missing, but hey, it was sexy.

"Oh Seph is meeting us there. He said he had to go to a picture signing or something."

_Yeah, probably just wanted be the center of attention again._

"He's meeting us at the airship or at the GC?"

Daniel was already strapping his gun belt to his waist as he secured his two large pistols in their holsters on either side. He fastened his sword to his sheath in the small of his back, and then stretched out his gloves. He usually wore the plane SOLDIER uniform, modified of course. It was an off green, bland sort of jumpsuit that was baggy at the knees slightly, but tucked in tightly at his black metal buckle boots. He wore a faded grey stitched open vest over the top half of his suit and let the strands of the ripped sleeves fall over his shoulder. He fastened the metal bracer around his left forearm, which fit like a glove on him. He stood ready in the doorway, striking a pose as he grinned at himself in the mirror.

"You know, your not as good looking as you make yourself out to be."

His image slumped.

"Thanks Sandy I love you too." He replied in a snide remark.

He snuck behind her as she was trying to put on some lipstick, and he grappled her to the bed, tickling the hell out of her. She screamed and giggled as she fought to try and stop her arms from reaching her very sensitive sides. The two stopped and stared at each other for a moment as that feeling passed through them both. She only grinned as she leaned up and gave him a quick childish kiss on the lips.

"You know, you're not the epitome of hot either." Daniel sounded confident in his approach to regain a bit of lost ego.

Daniel let her up and she went back to fixing her lipstick and putting the finishing touches to her hair.

"I never said I was. You're the one prancing around like you're gods gift to women, which your not by the way."

Daniel put his hands in his pockets and started shuffling out the door. She knew exactly just how to pop his ego bubble. As Sandy finished she grabbed her purse and walked by Daniel, leaning up to give him a real kiss this time.

"Your Gods gift to me." She said sexily as she bit her bottom lip.

Yeah leave it to her to come out with a nice comeback that would ultimately save his manhood from shattering on the floor. She did this a lot, always ego up, ego down. He loved that kind of personality from her. That's probably why the two of them had been together for five years. As friends first, but their relationship grew with each passing mission together and soon they found themselves living in the same apartment in Junon. Daniel locked the door and caught up with his date for the night. He checked his watch.

_Half past seven._

Sandy dug herself into his left arm, laying her head on his shoulder while they walked in unison. She sighed as they walked to the transport car in the center of town. Daniel and Sandy stared at the sunset over the ocean. Yes this was going to be a grand weekend.


	3. Chapter 2: The Dinner Party

Daniel had to sit down. No more. Just no more dancing to this god awful music! Sandy rushed to the table and plopped down on the chair, obviously exhausted herself as she was out of breath.

"Wow! I'm surprised I lasted this long! I must be excited about the tournament."

Daniel could only nod as he took a long draught from the glass of ice water on the ballroom table. It only took them fifteen minutes to get to the airship. From there it was about a three hour flight to Gold Saucer, where the company had arranged rooms for them. ShinRa was always like this, they treated those who represented them with respect, but if you are to lose or after a time has passed, well Daniel didn't even want to think of what would happen if she were to lose miserably. After all any associate of ShinRa that embarrasses their company never lasts too long. Daniel sat back in his chair, pondering the repercussions of Sandy's career as a SOLDIER when Elena and her big sister walked up tot the table. He took notice, pulling him away from his little world inside of his head when Sandy let out a shrill squeal.

"Oh my god! You were able to make it!"

Sandy embraced Emily and kissed both sides of her cheek. This was supposedly something that nobility did to each other when they met. Daniel knew he would be caught dead before he would kiss another mans cheeks.

"Well it took a bit of pressure, but I was finally able to convince Tseng to talk to Verdot and I got the time off."

Daniel about gagged as Sandy jumped up slightly, gripping Emily's hand. He was a rather attractive woman, she had the same bob cut that Sandy had a bit longer and her hair was a bright golden blond. Her body was no joke either, a walking piece of eye candy to be sure. She, like everyone else was wearing a formal black dress. She kept a serious attitude on her face though, and if it wasn't for the fact that she was a complete work-a-holic and rather serious person, he might actually consider dating her instead of Sandy.

"And you made it too?"

Sandy had turned her attention as Daniel reluctantly exchanged pleasantries with Emily, smiling slightly and listening to her boring stories of work. Well he thought they were boring but the other guys who ever so discreetly positioned themselves around her to eavesdrop apparently found them interesting.

"Yeah," Elena said with a smile. "Getting out of schools far less stressful than getting a day off with the Turks." Elena looked at Emily with a sneer.

"Yes but you don't have as many responsibilities in high school, Elena. Maybe one day you'll perform better and make it into the Turks." Emily returned her little sisters glare.

Daniel and Sandy looked at both of the two, trying to 'politely' argue in front of each other. They knew what was about to happen and knew that if not separated soon, things would get very interesting around their table. Sandy stepped in and took Emily's hand and started pulling her away.

"Of course she will make a fine Turk, Emily. Come over here I have some friends I would like you to meet."

As if she really had a choice, Emily followed Sandy to a group of other important political figures. Daniel sat back down at the table and waved his hand for the waiter to come. He rushed by, expertly dodging swung arms, drunken stumbles and a flat out stray dancing couple; the waiter had arrived with the pompous servant look on his face.

"Yeeeeeessss Sir. What can I do for you?" He stated in a low and respectful voice as he bowed slightly.

"Uh, some crackers if you have em. And for god's sake no fish eggs on them this time! And, um, oh yeah! A Spartan long neck!"

Elena laughed a bit as she relaxed at the table. She was a bit more boyish than most girls her age, but she could toss back with the best of them as well. Not to mention her filthy sailors mouth. He enjoyed Elena's company, not for her good looks, which was always a plus to him, but for her ravish personality. She was still wearing her seifuku, but instead of her hair being down, she tied it up in a bun behind her head.

"Ex-cuse me surrrr, but we do not serve second rate beer here. Only the finest wines and ales fit for the president himself."

Elena mocked the waiter by presenting Daniel with an 'ooohhh' look. No one, and that means no one, insults Daniels favorite beer.

"What?! Are you calling Spartan Ale second rate? I outta string you up and hang you by that towel! Whatever just give me what ever then. Elena what do you want?"

The waiter gulped as he took down the order for oyster crackers and a large mug of ShinRa Select.

"I just want Saki and a shrimp cocktail."

"Ex-cuse me miss, but we do not serve alcohol to…"

Daniel sighed as he folded up a one hundred gil bill and tucked it into his apron.

"Forgive my rudeness, Sir and Madam. I had no idea you were turning twenty today."

Daniel grinned as he patted the bill.

"Now about our orders?"

"Yes sir, I'm afraid that the main bar is far to busy to serve you, so I must break into the reserve and present you with the same that is served to the guests of honor. If you will ex-cuse me."

The waiter bowed, keeping the same snide look on his face and walked away. Elena and Daniel laughed.

"I seriously thought you were going to hang him out to dry! I would have at least wanted to take a couple of shots at him."

Daniel smiled as he cracked his knuckles, tossing them behind his head as he relaxed his feet on the table.

"Yep! Spartan may be cheap, but its by no means second rate. They serve it at Seventh Heaven you know, sells fast there."

Elena perked up as the waiter returned with their orders.

"Wait you've been down in the slums in Midgar? I've always wanted to go to wall market but I've been kept busy with school."

"Wall Market isn't anything spectacular, other than the Honey Bee Inn and Corenos mansion."

Elena and Daniel took a long quaff from their mugs, slamming them down in unison and wiping their mouths with their arms, ending the symphony of old man behavior by letting out a large belch each.

"So have you ever gone to Honey Bee Inn?"

Daniel nodded.

"Yeah, a couple of times. I usually only go down there when the Don wants us to pull guard duty for his fashion shows."

Elena looked shocked as she monstrously ripped a cooked shrimp from its tail.

"You guys do that? I though you were just soldiers."

Daniel shook his head.

"No. Sometimes we get nothing better to do and instead of the company wasting money having us sit around, they put us to work now and again. From what I heard, it's not cheap, but somehow the Don can afford it."

Sandy returned with Emily and a few other individuals, she kicked his legs off the table discreetly, shooting him a look that would turn a black cat white.

"Daniel, Elena, I want you to meet the newest member of the platoon, Zack."

The man stepped up. He was younger than he was, and wore a look on his face that seemed to scream 'I'm up to something', but he looked very strong and level headed. His hair was a slicked back, spiky black, with one large strand hanging over his right eye. He was still wearing the uniform and he could tell by the look in his eyes, and the glow, that he had just become a SOLDIER recently. Daniel was always one to welcome new comers into the platoon and greeted him warmly.

"Hey! Welcome to the platoon!"

Zack scratched the back of his head, and then extended his gloved hand shyly.

"Heh, thanks."

Daniel kicked a chair out for Zack to sit on. Sandy and Emily took a seat by each other and engaged in their own girl talks while Elena butted in, trying to out do her sister with great feats, and acts of responsibility.

"My names Daniel Moscow, I'm the platoons marksman instructor."

Zack smiled.

"Are you a first class as well?"

Daniel laughed, tossing a few crackers in his mouth.

"Of course! You can't be a trainer unless you are. So when did you get roped into the service?"

Zack looked down.

"a little over a year ago."

Daniel blew out all of his oyster crackers on the table.

"Pffffttttt….One year?! And your already first class?! Hell, it took Sandy at least six months after school to get her first, but getting it straight out of training?!"

Zack was obviously embarrassed as Sandy and Emily broke their contact and stared at him. Elena just held her hands out to the sides as she felt disgusted with the chewed up oyster crackers blown all over her outfit.

"Is that something so prestigious? I've heard of others…"

Sandy, who was also taken by shock from Zack's words, spoke up in place of Daniel, who was apologizing to Elena.

"No, there isn't anyone else besides Him. They'll tell you that in training to make you think that everyone can do it. The only one that's ever gotten first class straight out of training is…"

A soft yet commanding voice spoke up behind her. It was a sexy slightly deep voice that demanded respect.

"Aww, Sandy, are you talking about me again?"

Sandy spun around and as a reflex action, swung her fist out as well from the surprise. This caught the tall handsome man in the chin and he stumbled backwards, gripping his nose with his glossy black leather gloves. His platinum hair finally twirled away and she could see his eyes.

"Sephy! Oh I'm so sorry are you alright?"

"Oh I'm quite alright; I don't remember you being mad at me though."

Sephiroth sounded a little stuffed up. Sandy probably broke his nose, but there was no blood or anything, so now one took any notice. After all this was the famed Sephiroth, how would the tabloids take him, the invincible SOLDIER, running away from a dinner party from a broken nose?

Daniel stood up and laughed as he gripped Sephiroth's hand in a warm greeting, then hugged each other.

"You're late." Daniel said with a grin.

"I'm sorry. I just had other responsibilities that needed to be taken care of first."

The two stepped away, and Sandy pulled up another char from the adjacent table for Sephiroth to sit in.

"And would one of those responsibilities be running to the Honey Bee Inn?"

Sephiroth frowned as the others laughed.

"It was only a picture signing. I was requested by the company to make an appearance there for a couple of hours to shake hands and sign pictures. I left as soon as my contract time was over."

Daniel laughed as the waiter brought the table another round of beers.

"So the sexy women there had nothing to do with it?"

Sephiroth tossed back the mug and slammed it down, much like Elena and Sandy did. He chuckled a bit before shaking his head.

"No, you know how I am."

Daniel nodded, not even looking at him. He knew full well how Sephiroth was, shifty eyes, beautiful skin and hair. Sometimes he thought he looked like a really tall woman rather than the original SOLDIER. He didn't like women all that much and was never interested in courting. He would never admit it, but Daniel could swear up and down that he looked at men, much the same way he looked at women. He didn't feel that this was wrong for him to be gay, but he could never confirm it, or would he dare to even ask. He still remembered how much depression he sunk into after he convinced Sephiroth to explain his childhood before the two of them met.

Sephiroth had short hair as a child, next to Daniel's long blond hair which forced him to endure many instructors' taunts of asking his gender. He knew of all the horrors he had to endure, as during the test phase of the SOLDIER program, he was one of the 'subjects' along side Sephiroth. It was only because he was a descendent of the Cetra warrior clan from well over two thousand years ago. Doctor usually called the pair 'his little Guiney pigs'. He only knew of it when he turned twelve and was recruited by Tseng during a diplomatic meeting by ShinRa in the town of Mideel in order to try and secure a reactor in that area. He remembered Hojo's un-earthly experiments but later on in life learned to deal with them as just a scar in his and Sephiroth's past. But one thing bothered him. He knew why he was put into the experiments, because he was the descendant of a Cetra that survived the Jenova calamity, yet Sephiroth claimed that his mothers name was Jenova.

"Hey Seph, I gotta question to ask you…"

Right as Daniel was about to ask the question, the airship, Cerberus, lurched violently, sending everyone to the floor. Sephiroth reached for his sword hilt while Daniel perched himself on the table, both pistols drawn. Sandy was tying off the left side of her formal skirt and stretched her gloves out. Elena and Emily were both still on the floor as Zack tried to help them to their feet.

"All guards report to the forward deck on the double!!! Were being att-"

The intercom suddenly turned to static and was subsequently turned off. There was another loud crash as the ShinRa grunts and officers ran towards the political officials, trying to calm and reassure them of their safety, which in their heads none of them really knew if they were telling the truth or not. Without thinking, Sephiroth, Daniel and Sandy ran towards the exit sign labeled 'Sky Balcony'. As soon as Daniel turned the corner from the stairs, he fell to his knees just as a bullet had rushed past his face. He pointed both pistols at his attacker and sneered. There was a group of lackeys, each with a rifle in their hands. They were all lead by a single man with a bandana on his head. As Sandy and Sephiroth caught up and stood on either side of them, they all took fighting stances. Sandy studied his face carefully.

"Its AVALANCHE!!"

"Are you sure?" Sephiroth asked, watching the other lackeys place explosives all along the front of the airship.

"Positive. That's their second in command, Sears!"

Hearing his name the man turned around and faced the trio. He only grinned then jumped off the deck onto the waiting hovercraft below.

The three winced as the entire crew of lackeys surrounded them. Sephiroth stood resolute, none coming within reach of his massive Nodachi, Sandy growled with her fists at her side, eyes darting left and right challenging someone to come forward. Daniel had both pistols aimed at different targets, grinning slightly as was his style when he felt overconfident.

"We have to disable those bombs." Sandy glanced at the sticks of dynamite all wired to a digital clock. It was counting down fast from ten minutes.

"We're not going to get to them all in time if we have to deal with these guys." Sephiroth planted his feet into the wooden deck to give him a better charging edge, as both Sandy and he knew that it would be Daniel and his lack of patience that would ultimately start this fight.

After a moment passed, Daniel extended the knives that were hidden just above the barrel of his pistols.

"LET'S ROCK!!!!"

Daniel leapt into the air, preparing to come down on a surprised Lackey, as Sephiroth and Sandy dashed in their directions to engage the enemy, each screaming their own battle cry.

NOTE

Emily is actually a real character as Elena's older sister, but in the game "_Before Crisis_", she is without a default name, so I just named her what I named her in the game. She is the short haired blond woman that was a playable near the beginning.


	4. Chapter 3: AVALANCHE Attack

Sandy tossed one of the lackeys into three others as she was knocked down by another from behind her. She tumbled forward, kicking another off the balcony. Her face was slightly bloodied as a majority of the men decided to take her on, thinking that she would be easy prey. Sephiroth was locked in a sword duel with several others, always killing one member, but another always appeared to take his place. He was winded but for the most part untouched aside from the bullet holes in his coat and an unsightly scuff on his left boot. Daniel, though, was nearly completely untouched. He was slightly mad though, laughing as he cut his enemies down with lightning speed. Of the three, he was the one who was clearing out the majority, yet unlike like the others, he was the only who forgot about the bombs strapped to the oversized zeppelin.

Sandy finally did a spin kick, tripping four lackeys at the same time. Sephiroth took this opportunity to rush in and he cleaved all four in half with one chop.

"Go get that one, ill hold them off!"

Sephiroth engaged the seven men who were starting to charge forward while Sandy went to work trying to pull the bomb off its base and throw it overboard. As she tossed it to the side, she saw the ShinRa airship Highwind flying just beneath them. They were already evacuating the ship and from the looks of it, were nearly completed. Sandy felt a bit relieved as now they had one less thing to worry about. The bomb detonated about a hundred feet away, forcing the ship to make a sharp jerk to the left.

"We need to hurry up! God only knows how many they planted!"

Sephiroth was beginning to get frustrated. He was surrounded by green light for a moment, his platinum hair flaying about wildly behind him. Sandy noticed this and hit the deck.

"Daniel get down!" sandy screamed.

Daniel took a running dive between his attacker's legs and slid across the floor; using the bullets he fired to maintain his momentum. The three had worked together on many missions, including one hopeless battle on the field right outside of Wutai. Sephiroth threw his hand out, and fire erupted on the group of lackeys trying to catch Daniel. There were only about twelve left and this cough eleven of them in a fiery inferno of death. When the spell finished, there was nothing left but ash that quickly burned away under the high winds of the Cerberus. The last one looked pretty mean. He took out two swords and started doing fancy, martial moves. Spinning this way and that, throwing them in the air while still keeping his attack moving, he ended his display of expertise with the sword with a war cry. Daniel did feel intimidated by his efforts. How could one with knives stand a chance against someone with this much talent with the swords? Daniel shrugged, lifted his pistol and shot the man in his chest, sending him flying through the railing and into the earth below. Sandy had managed to throw several more bombs over the side of the Cerberus, each blowing up dangerously close to its hull. Sephiroth himself had managed to take a few over the other side of the ship.

Daniel looked all along the deck at the bombs placed there. He counted twenty nine with only fifty seconds on the clocks remaining. He got a really bad feeling in his stomach.

"Uhh..guys! We need to leave now!"

Daniel frantically looked around as he was looking for something, anything to let them escape from the doomed airship.

"Thirty seconds!" Sephiroth proclaimed, as he ran towards the front of the ship, trying to get out of range for the other bombs.

"We can do it! Just do what ever you can to get these off the deck!" Sandy was struggling with a stubborn bomb that was seemingly super glued to the wooden deck. Sephiroth grabbed her and ran towards the doorway back into the bowels of the ship. They were met with an explosion that effectively prevented them from escaping to the parachutes in the hallway. Daniel just stood in the center of the deck, trying to run through his head about what could be done. He glanced at the bomb next to him.

_Ten seconds…_

Daniel could only close his eyes. This was it, he was done. There was nothing that could be done about it anymore; he was going to die, if not from the bomb blast, from the large crash that was sure to follow. He looked over the side of the rail and saw that they were still above the clouds. It was so peaceful up here. The wind blew through his hair and he took in its sweet scent one last time before he would meet his maker. After he heard the five second warning on the timer, his logic finally got the better of him and he sprinted as fast as he could towards the others. He leapt just in time as the bombs detonated on the deck in order from front to rear in pairs. Sephiroth lost his footing as the ship started turning vertical and plummeted towards the planet. Sandy lost her footing much earlier and where as Sephiroth and placed a hand on the remains of the door to the lower decks, Sandy and Daniel helplessly slid down the length as they tried to avoid falling tables, string lights, and the splintering wood as the main pocket f this giant zeppelin was deflating and causing the metal plating to collapse under its newfound weakness. Sandy managed to catch the rail right as she slid out of the bars. The ground seemed much closer now and with the ship now in freefall, the wind was far more powerful, drafting up Sandy's skirt. Daniel had flown from between the bars but managed to catch on the party lights that became detached as the awning over the balcony broke away.

"Daniel!!!" Sandy was frantically trying to reach for the rope of lights that looked like they were holding Daniel up by little less than miracle. Sephiroth studied the falling ship and debris and let go of the door, sliding down and purposely bumping against bolted tables and other objects to slow his fall enough to be able to fall where Sandy was. He landed on the metal railing and positioned his body for a leap. That was when he saw it. It was something that was flapping with the paper lanterns and party lights on that power cord. Something stacked in a pyramid with a digital clock, counting down from one minute. He knew now that something would go seriously wrong if Daniel was not recovered quickly.

"Daniel! There's a bomb attached to the lights!"

Daniel gripped the lights with both hand to try and steady himself on the falling craft. Even though it was pointed towards the horizon, the ship seemed to right itself vertically as another explosion rang out from the engine room at the rear of the ship. Sephiroth gently let go of the railing just enough so that the deck would put him on his feet once more. Sandy nearly fell from the railing as the ship righted, but Sephiroth caught her boot just in time and reeled her back in. They noticed a helicopter appearing in the distance with that familiar white and red logo written on the side. As it got closer, Sephiroth smiled.

"Sandy looked over and a feeling of relief washed over her for the moment as her eyes met with that of Emily's, hanging out of the cargo door, wearing her uniform. The helicopter got just close enough so that Sephiroth could throw Sandy on the deck and he jumped up and grabbed the rail himself.

"NO! Go down! You have to go down! Daniel is still down there!"

The pilot started descending as ordered, but a lose table from the deck had come unbolted and flew into the rotary blades. The alarm sounded in the cockpit and the pilot did his beast to stabilize the craft. Sandy was leaning out the side, Emily and Sephiroth doing their best to keep her from flying out herself.

Daniel decided to test the strength of the power cord. One hand over the other, he tossed all thought and fear of the line snapping as he climbed up. If he could only reach the deck, he was sure he could jump onto the chopper. That was until he saw the big red numbers stare him right in the face. There was only a few seconds left. He looked over at the Turks chopper as it started approaching again. His world froze in his head. He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the base of the power cord.

"NOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

Sephiroth had to wrap his arms around her as she saw what had happened. Daniel had shot the power cord lose and he now fell with the cord. A single tear escaped his eyes as he shut them, hoping that he would fall unconscious before he hit the ground below.

The final beep of the bomb signaled a massive explosion which at first seemed to envelope Daniel within the ball of fire. Sandy screamed in terror and fought harder than before, but finally gave up as she slumped into Sephiroth's arms. Her eyes were flowing, her nerves were shot. Five years of a relationship, working side by side, the arguments, the pleasure of his company, the feel of his strong hands wrapped around her were all gone now. She felt torn inside as she stared out at the grassland expanse. Emily ordered the pilot to get clear of the Cerberus and they took off for the sky.

"Can we confirm who did this?"

Sephiroth nodded at Emily. He also felt heart broken. His partner, one who knew all of his secrets, the one who understood what it was like to be different; he no longer existed. After pausing, he looked Emily straight in the eyes.

"It was AVALANCH. We confirmed the sighting of their second in command, Sears."

"It was probably an assassination attempt on the Director of Weapons Development. We had found out that there was going to be an attempt on her life, but the message didn't get relayed to us in time for our departure."

Sephiroth gave her a puzzled look.

"What do you mean they knew? They knew and did nothing?"

"It was information that had been attained when ShinRa intercepted a message on the internet about a group claiming responsibility for downing the Cerberus. No one knew what they meant until they had received a message from the Cerberus that several ShinRa maintenance craft were asking permission to board in order to repair a faulty propeller."

Sephiroth cradled Sandy in his arms. Her look was dead. The tears flowed yet she made no sound. She only laid there in an absolute state.

"We need to find Daniel."

Emily remained silent for a moment as the two watched the ship crash into the mountain side in the distance. The explosions sent shockwaves and caused an actual avalanche from the top of the mountain to fall and collapse on the demolished and permanently grounded airship.

"As soon as I bring the report to Tseng, ill request a search party be appointed. Until then, were going to have to wait and hope that he survived the explosion and the fall."

Sephiroth, who knowing full well the regulations of the Turks, knew that it would be a while indeed. He didn't like the notion that in order to rescue his only friend, he would have to wait on paperwork. After seeing the look in Sandy's eyes, he knew he wouldn't be able to stand for this.

"Where did the ship crash?"

Emil brought up the computer screen and sifted through the map projected on there.

"The ship had over-shot its destination. It crashed in the Nibel area. Its about twenty miles from the town of Nibelheim."

"Nibelheim…" Sephiroth said coldly. "I'm so sorry that you have to return there my friend."

The party flew off into the distance, leaving their hopes with Daniel. Sephiroth looked at the sky, feeling a tear form in his eye as well, despite how hard he tried to fight it. That was the town where they were experimented on. He hated that town with a passion. The horrors he witnessed there, the screams that must have been heard at night from the depths of that mansion. He and Daniel had always despised that town for their crimes against them, more so than ShinRa.

"When we land, I need to talk to Mr. Tuesti about a faulty mako reactor in that area."

Emily looked stunned for a moment.

"How can you be thinking about fixing a god damn reactor at a time like this?! Have you no-"

It took a moment for the idea to sink in. Emily stopped as soon as it hit her. Being both high standing officials of the ShinRa Company, they knew that although they do run a governing position, they are still a company. The paperwork to send a team out to fix a faulty reactor would get pushed through much faster than one to search for missing personnel. After all, the company needed to protect their profit earnings.

"But there have been no reports in that area. How are you going to convince him?"

Sephiroth looked down at sandy with determination.

"Trust me. I'll make sure something goes wrong there."

Emily shook her head.

"Even IF they passed the request to go out and fix the reactor, they wouldn't send high ranking SOLDIERs out there to do grunt work."

Sephiroth knew this. Already a plan had formed in his head on what he would do. He knew that the only way he would be allowed to go, was if there was some kind of danger involved. He remembered the recent mission near that area of a large green dragon that he had fought. He never killed it but he remembered that it took off towards the mountains. But they wouldn't let him go alone, in fact they would only let him go there to kill the monster, then have him return. He suddenly got an idea in his head.

"Emily, what was the name of that SOLDIER that sat at the table with us?"


	5. Chapter 4: Tuck and Roll

Daniel shot straight up, tossing the dirt and rocks from his body and taking a deep breath that was mixed with rock dust, but sweet all the same. He gripped his chest which beat a hard tune, pumping him full of life again. Daniel pulled himself up just as the dust cleared, when the ground beneath him disappeared. Daniel struggled again, clawing for the rocks around him, but each one slipped between his fingers.

"Shhhhhhiiiiiiitt!!"

As the rock face caved away, Daniel couldn't help but wonder why where ever he was put in eminent danger, it always involved falling. He wondered this especially after he felt the soreness of his back, which was how he usually landed, and never on anything soft. Only this time was different.

_So this is what the ground looks like when it's rushing you at a hundred miles an hour._

He found himself in an awkward position. He had never landed on his face before and as such had no idea what to expect. The only thing he did know for sure was that the house below him was defiantly going to hurt.

As expected, he raced towards the roof of the building nestled just above the village. He braced his arms over his face as the wood splinters stabbed him and shredded his uniform. He came to rest in a large room after he had caused the large Victorian couch to collapse. He bounced once then landed on the floor, much much softer than he had anticipated. Although his coughing fits were none to cease, he was glad that he was still alive at least.

He stood up and shook himself more like a dog, gagging at the dust that exhumed from his body. Daniel rubbed his eyes as he took a quick look around, trying to adjust to his new setting. There wasn't much there, it looked more abandoned than anything else. There was an old sofa in which now was legless from where he landed, an old grand piano, old rug, windows and drapes. There was nothing here that was not old. Coughing the last of the dust, and hunching over while holding his back, Daniel started slowly walking towards the defunct piano. It was obvious that no one lives here, or if there was someone here, then they had poor cleaning habits.

The piano, though old as it may be still seemed to function. Curiosity got the better of him and he hit a few notes on the ivory keys. The sounds emanated throughout the room for a bit then faded all together. It was a nice clean and crisp sound that seemed odd for a piano of that age. Shrugging, Daniel started walking away when he heard several wires start snapping. He cringed as each resounded quite disturbingly in the room.

_You just had to touch it didn't you Daniel?_

He didn't even bother looking back, only continued out the room. When he followed the hallway down into the main foyer, he froze. The smell was awfully familiar here, and when he saw the motif on the ceiling, he was instilled with a dread he hadn't felt in years. This couldn't be that place, this couldn't be Shin'Ra mansion, could it?

Daniel started walking faster towards the front door. He had to escape, he had to run, that was all he could think of. The smell of formaldehyde and burning mako was enough to remind him of exactly why he shouldn't be here.

Bursting out of the front door, Daniel ran towards the old iron gate. He stopped to calm his beating heart. This was the place that they did those horrible experiments on him and Sephiroth. This was the place that he had done so much to bury into his past, yet no mater how deep he placed it in his hear, it resurfaced so effortlessly.

"Hey! Are you ok?"

A young woman, no more than fourteen or fifteen ran up to him. Her hair was long for her age, and her large brimmed hat bounced with each step she took. She was followed by a brisk man in a cape. From the looks of it, he was a martial arts teacher of some kind. Only those kinds of people wore clothing of that nature.

Daniel stood to his feet and tried to brush off his clothes. He was still a bit weak in the knees but felt as if he could stand. He was a SOLDIER, so he had a reputation to keep.

"I-I'm fine. Really! Something small like that couldn't hurt me that much."

Daniel tossed a hand behind his head and laugh.

_Yeah, it wont hurt me, but could possibly kill me._

Daniel grinned nervously at the two, who only stared at him with worried faces. The older man spoke up after sending the young woman into the small town below the hill.

"How did you get here? Did you come through the mountain pass?"

Logic finally struck Daniel in the face, like a large wooden hammer. Mountains? Gold Saucer was surrounded by desert, not mountains. Adding all the figures up in his head, he came to the conclusion that he was back in Nibelheim.

"Oh man, talk about veering off course…"

"What was that?"

Daniel suddenly remembered that he had a partner in this conversation other than himself.

"Oh! Uh, no! I was on an airship heading towards Gold Saucer when terrorists attacked the ship. I was thrown from the balcony when it sank."

The man looked shocked.

"Airship? You mean you were on the Cerberus when Avalanche attacked?!"

Daniel only nodded, felling somewhat uncomfortable that a complete stranger was taking such interest in his story.

"Then that must mean that your SOLDIER, am I right?"

"Yeah," Daniel asked quizzically, "How'd you know?"

The old man started walking down the stone path, motioning for Daniel to follow.

"You have mako eyes. Brightest I've ever seen in a soldier. So what rank are you?"

Daniel could never resist sounding proud to announce his rank. It was one of the things Sandy really hated about him.

"I'm SOLDIER First Class. Marksman expert! I'm the platoon's-"

"First Class?! Great! How lucky we are! Listen we need your help! There have been sightings of an old and dangerous monster in the Nibelheim Mountains…"

The old man started walking off past the windmill and towards the local inn there. He stopped speaking, seeing that his opportunity to gloat about his prestige was wasted on guy.

Daniel couldn't make out most of what he was saying from him talking to fast. He did catch Old and Powerful, dangerous, and maybe magical (but the monsters now-a-days were nearly all magical in some way).

"So will you do it? Will you help save our town?"

"Um…I would love to, but I really need to contact the company. I'll ask them if I can help you."

The old man sneered, and then turned to everyone in the street who all stopped to give him their attention.

"Listen everyone! This here SOLDIER said he won't help us! If we can't rely on Shin'Ra, then who do we turn to?"

Daniel was frozen in embarrassment. The crowd all turned and talked with each other. He couldn't make out what they were saying, but he knew two things: it was about him, and it was bad.

"Jesus! You didn't have to go that far! Alright I'll help you just, stop it already!"

The old man smirked.

"Ok people, he agreed."

Like a switch the people stopped and continued with what they were doing, like nothing had ever happened at all. Daniel stood frozen; his mouth hung open and finger pointing into space out of confusion.

_That rat-bastard swindled me! Hell the entire town just swindled me!_

"Now, your pretty beat up. Rest here for a few days and regain your strength. You can set out when you're prepared. It's probably best to ask the townsfolk about the lore and legends surrounding Lost Number.

Daniel slumped.

"Can I at least make a phone call to let the company know I'm alright first?"

_Or rather that my equipment is ok. President Shinra is a bit inhuman when it comes to people._

"You can try," the old man stated as he walked away. "This town hasn't had a working phone for a few years now."

Daniel only stood there as he watched the old man walk away. Even though he couldn't see it, he was sure the old man was smiling. He just threw his fist at the imaginary image in front of him, pretending to land a blow squarely on the old mans nose, then he just slumped down on the side of the inn, cursing his luck. He should be out there, trying to find a way to contact the company, more importantly, he needed to contact Sephiroth and Cassandra. She must be worrying herself sick.

As he was wondering the best way to handle this situation, he felt a cold chill run down his spine as an evil wind swept by him. The world seemed to drain of color and the clouds became dark and disturbed. He heard the whispering coming from the mountain, evil and frightening sounds. When he looked down the trail that leads into the mountains, it seemed to grow and stretch, like it was drawing him in against his will. Daniel's eyes were wide with terror. He saw a face, transparent in the cold blue stone of the mountain. The face was feminine but when he saw this, he was frightened beyond all imagining. He knew this face from somewhere. The whispering was muddled now, telling him both to run for his life, and others resounding with requests of vengeance. All he knew was that he was frozen in place by that stare, his body felt sick and his stomach turned in knots. When the face centered on him, it smiled something horrid, then lept at him with fangs bearing. Daniel couldn't even scream, his breaths were short and shallow.

"Hey!"

Daniel jumped as the girl shook his shoulder. He took in deep breaths, looking back at the mountain path. It was calm, eerily quiet but gentle all the same. The orange leaves fell from the autumn sunset trees as the wind lazily blew them around. It was just a dream, a day dream. Whatever it was, it was enough to shake Daniel's composure.

"Are you ok?"

Daniel wiped the sweat from his face and stood up, brushing off his pants and trying to redeem some of his composure.

"Yeah, just stressed."

The girl nodded and handed him a stuffed cloth sack and a glass of semi-cold milk.

"Here. I made you dinner."

Daniel took the cloth sack and untied the knot. They were crude egg sandwiches, with lettuce, and some kind of condiment smeared all over the eggs. The smell reminded him of just how hungry he was. He took a small bite of the first sandwich and sighed. The flavor was an explosion in his mouth. He couldn't put a finger on what the condiment was but it was spicy and delicious. He couldn't help but start stuffing his face.

"Hey take it easy! There's enough there to fill you up, don't worry."

Daniel finished the sandwiches in a matter of seconds, drowning every other bite with the glass of milk. These were really something. If Sandy could cook like this, he was sure that he would get fat in no time at all.

"Wow those were delicious! Thank you."

The girl only blushed and shied playfully to the side. It was obvious that she doesn't get many chances to be flattered.

_Come to think of it, where are all the men in this town? I can see lots of women, but only a handful of men._

"I'm sorry that Master Zangan swindled you into helping the town, but we are truly thankful for your help."

Daniel gave one more look around to confirm what he was thinking before he asked his question.

"Why didn't you guys file with the company sooner? With a mako reactor here they would surly come help the town."

The girl shook her head as she leaned up against the wall, kicking one foot up behind her and placing both hands behind her bottom.

"We filed the complaint several years ago, but the Shinra that came out here were not SOLDIERS. When you came, it was like a miracle. We never thought you would come back here. I never thought I would see you again either."

The girl smiled as she looked down, playfully shuffling her feet in the dirt.

"…huh?!"

Daniel had a dumbfounded look on his face. What exactly was this girl talking about? He knew he was Hojo's experiment several years back at the mansion, but he was locked in a glass tube the entire time he was there, and never got out to see the village, or rather he could only see what was in the confines of the transport canisters.

The girl looked at him with confusion.

"You don't remember? You and your parents came here a long time ago to excavate the ruins that were in the mountains. The…Cetra ruins if I remember correctly."

None of this was ringing any bells. He just stood there with his hand on his chin, trying hard to remember.

"Well, you guys found something in the ruins there, some kind of weird mummy. You seriously don't remember? It was all over the papers back then. I was only four years old but I sure remember you."

Daniel just couldn't grasp what she was talking about. If there were ruins there, he would make sure to check them out. He didn't remember much of the archeological digs his father and mother drug him along to, but he didn't rule out the possibility that he was here as a kid. Not to mention that any artifacts or places that explained a bit of the mystery surrounding his ancestors always perked his interest.

"Heh, I'm sorry but I don't really remember that much."

The girl looked disappointed, much more than any normal person would look. In fact, she seemed out right saddened.

"Oh, well it was a long time ago."

The girl started walking off towards her house, or what he thought was her house. The town was small, and only a handful of houses dotted the area, all surrounding an old windmill and a beat up truck that looked like it hadn't run in years. For now, Daniel just stared down the path into the mountains. There was something that implored him to run from the very sight of it. He could hear the voices of the other ancients pleading for him to run, others for him to exact revenge.

He thought this was interesting. Daniel couldn't hear the voices of the planet in Midgar, and even then, the only place he could hear them was in The Forgotten Capitol. They were always just barely auditable voices, just beyond his range of hearing. He always thought that it was because his family's powers had weakened over the centuries, but this was obviously not the case anymore. He did his best to drown out the voices and went inside the inn.

Just as the old man had said, the phone was old, dusty, and didn't even work. Daniel sighed as he thought hard about buying a cell phone when he got back to Midgar. He started walking upstairs after talking with the innkeeper for some much deserved rest. There was something that bothered him though. That face he saw in his little vision was so familiar, he knew it from somewhere. He could actually remember seeing it in person, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly when or where. He plopped down on the large fluffy bed on the second floor bedroom. He buried his face into the pillows.

"Today was the suckiest day I've had in years." He mumbled, and then turned over and quickly fell asleep as exhaustion caught up with him. The cold wind of the mountain blew in from the open window and caused Daniel to shiver. Not because the wind was cold, but there was something about the air here that disturbed him, like feeling the breathing of a monster on your neck before you turn around to face it.


	6. Chapter 5: To Have Loved and Lost

"She hasn't eaten in days, she won't talk and she won't report to her superiors, which have them very worried. Can I get your assurance that you will take responsibility for her well being?"

The platoon manager took her glasses off as she looked Sephiroth dead in the eyes.

"Yes ma'am. I will take care of her and relieve her of her duties. I'm sorry things turned out this way."

The woman pinched her brow as she turned back to her computer. She was obviously very annoyed with this. She brushed back her long black bang behind her ear and started running searches in her computer of the rest of the SOLDIER platoons.

"It's bad enough that we lost our marksman trainer, but now we lost our hand-to-hand specialist as well. Finding replacements for them won't be easy."

Sephiroth only stood ridged and made a slight noise of discomfort. He didn't like to hear that his only friends were so replaceable.

"I want a report filed in with the Department of Public Safety every seven days no later than 2100 hours. You will file the report on the condition of SOLDIER First Class Bianca. Failure to do so will result in a forfeiture of pay for the week and extra duty. Is that understood?"

Sephiroth nodded, feeling a bit numb in his toes.

The woman turned to him again and handed him a file with a ShinRa seal in red, covering the flap.

"Seeing as your current partner is missing in action and presumed dead…"

Sephiroth cleared his throat in protest to that statement. Above all, that was the last thing he wanted to admit to.

"…you are being reassigned to 7th Detachment Mechanics Platoon. Your new partner is SOLDIER First Class Zack. He is new to the field, but capable and shows a lot of promise. Train and treat him well."

Sephiroth let a small smile escape his lips when she turned back to her computer. His plan was working after all.

"This platoon also has squaddies and regular army soldiers, no officers so civilian clothing is authorized as a uniform as long as its combat capable and non-offensive. Your first mission is to act as escort for the platoons mechanics in Costa del Sol. I've sent you and Zack and e-mail with further information. You're dismissed."

Sephiroth saluted and turned towards the door. He was stopped moments before he closed it behind him.

"Don't worry Sephiroth. We'll find him. I promise."

Sephiroth didn't say anything, but closed the door behind him and started walking down the hall. He wore a look on his face now, one that deterred fan-boys and fame seekers from interacting with him. He was no better off than Sandy was. To Sephiroth, Daniel was his only friend, the only one who knew what he went through. To lose him so suddenly was something that he couldn't accept. He was SOLDIER, he was the elite of the elite, although he was not as famous as Sephiroth was, he knew that their strength was nearly matched. They suffered so much together, yet now it was as if he floated away, back into the life stream to never be heard from again.

It was dusk now back at Midgar, although the sun almost never shown through the dense clouds of pollution that rolled over the grand city, today was a pleasant exception. Along the streets of the top plate, couples were leaning over the railing, children were all taking advantage of the daylight, playing games with each other.

_They know nothing! Weak fools can't comprehend the disaster that lies just beyond these walls of cement and steel. Weak and pathetic…_

Sephiroth stopped and stared at the sunset, holding a hand to his head.

"What am I thinking?"

He only shook it off and returned to the soldier barracks. The airship Gelnika would be arriving soon to take them back home.

Sandy tossed and turned on the bed, rolling away from the window with her pillow clenched to her chest. The tears hadn't stopped since they arrived to report to higher command. She had only been there a week, but refused to see anyone, not even her family. For her, comfort only came in small doses when she would cry herself to sleep, and not have to face the reality that she lost the man who she saw as her future husband. Sephiroth would leave a tray of food, three times a day in her room. She would take drinks of the water, maybe a nibble here and there of the shortbreads or vegetables, but nothing more of an insect's portion. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't get that image of Daniel out of her head, seconds before the explosion. The look on his face and the look in his eyes always stopped her dead in her tracks.

"Stupid…"

She whispered to herself while sitting up and grabbing the pack of cigarettes on her bed stand. She opened the window and let the warm air of Midgar flow through her hair while she lit one of the sticks up. It seems now that the only breaks from crying she has are when she stops to smoke.

She was immovable in this state, not even acknowledging the presence of anyone. Not even Sephiroth when he gently rapped at the iron door, then opened it. He looked at the many cigarette butts in the ashtray next to her bed and saw her smoking again, knowing full well that he was there.

"You know smoking in the barracks is prohibited."

Sandy only took a puff and blew the smoke out the window.

"So fire me…"

Sephiroth sighed. He hated these situations. He had absolutely no idea how to handle women. He was never interested and quite frankly didn't even want to understand how their minds work.

"Gelnika will be arriving soon. I'll take you home, and watch after you for a few weeks until I have to fly to Costa del Sol on a mission."

"I'm not going."

Sephiroth was getting slightly annoyed. Come hell or high water, she was getting on that plane.

"Sandy, this isn't easy for me either. Headmaster Takami said she would look into this personally."

Quite unexpectedly, this drew Sandy's attention. When she turned her head and Sephiroth saw her face, she was taken aback. She was a mess.

"Of corse she would, she's been after him for quite some time now. I wouldn't be surprised if she tried to cut in our relationship, taking advantage of us like this. She could fly to where ever he is and feed him any type of bullshit story she wanted."

Sandy dug her face into her knees, which were clenched to her chest now.

"He's gullible. He would believe anything she told him."

Sephiroth shook his head as he emptied the ashtray in the waste basket.

"No. I don't think so. He's in love with you Sandy, he won't be deterred so easily. So please get ready. I don't want to have to force you."

Sephiroth knew that it was harsh, but if he didn't move things along, they would miss their flight.

Half expecting Sandy to throw a punch, Sephiroth started packing her belongings in her duffel bag. Much to his surprise, she only blew out her last drag of smoke, and flicked the cigarette butt out the window. She climbed from the bed and staggered a bit. The only times she would get up and walk were when she needed to use the restroom. Sephiroth watched her relearn how to walk in a matter of seconds, and then followed her out of the barracks room, closing the door with a loud clang.

The rest of the walk was rather quiet. Sandy was always the talkative one, but for the first time since Sephiroth knew her, she didn't say a word. She didn't even salute the officers she passed by, nor did she return the salutes of those below her rank. She was in emotional turmoil, and nothing short of Daniel's return would ever bring the smile back to her face.

The two boarded the plane on the landing strip and strapped themselves in. The military plane was reserved, so they were the only two in the cargo hold other than the crew. He wanted it that way, feeling it necessary to give Sandy her space and his too. He still wasn't sure of how he felt about all this. He only had a plan in mind, a goal to reach and he was determined to obtain that goal.

"Sephy…" Sandy stated coldly, "you think he's really dead?"

She spoke with a cracked voice, obviously fighting back tears.

Sephiroth looked down, feeling a single tear form on his face as well.

"No. Someone like him doesn't die so easily."

Sandy smile slightly and sank back into her seat. It was an empty smile, one that seemed to go against all for what she appeared to be.

"You still have hope then. I'm glad one of us does."

Sephiroth just folded his arms as the plane started taking off. He would never admit, but he was beginning to lose hope himself.

The newspaper reports said that the crash landed in the Nibel mountain range, in a remote region that is virtually inaccessible to the rest of the world. Airships cannot fly directly above there for the high winds near the peaks, the snow and tremors make land travel deadly. While a small team did travel there and recover the remains of the airship, only Daniel's seashell hairpin was found, not Daniel himself. This lead people to think that he was killed in the final explosion, or at the very least from the fall. Despite all odds, Sephiroth knew he was alive. Daniel was just as tough as he was, and nearly as strong. Something like that can't kill a SOLDIER, so why is everyone assuming that he died? Did he mean so little to the company? Was he so insignificant as to just replace him? No, Sephiroth wouldn't allow it. He couldn't. There was no replacement for his partner, his friend.

He thought back on several things, childhood memories that they made together when they were little. Sephiroth didn't have much of a childhood outside of being the SOLDIER prototype and a laboratory experiment of Hojo's. His only shreds of happiness were found with Daniel and Sandy. Together, the three had accomplished great feats during the war.

Ah the war. Nothing bonds two friends as deeply as being war buddies. Before, they were just partners, but when they hit the field, matching the enemy of the known world, they stood side by side and seemed to be unnaturally coordinated. In the words of one of the field commanders, '_It's as if you two share the same thoughts. You move as two people, but you act like a single will.' _Sephiroth always remembered that. The two were so intone with each other that at times they would finish each other's sentences. It got to be a problem so Sephiroth decided not to talk as much anymore.

"Sephy, if he really died, I don't know what I'll do. I feel empty without him, I feel cold, helpless, and weak. I feel frail and crushed at the same time."

Sandy looked at Sephiroth with tears in her eyes. He could tell that this was not some idle joke or empty promise made out of heart break. What she was about to say, came from the very core of her being.

"Sephy, I'll die without him."

Sephiroth sighed and reached for her hand, which trembled in her lap. His black leather gloves rubbed over her fingers as she clenched back.

"I won't let that happen."


End file.
